As a columnist, she has the luxury of tut-tutting the hard work of others, as she did in her column today, where she wrote off the recall of Arpaio as "doomed" and fraught with political miscalculation.

This comes after what the recall may one day look back on as "Black Monday," when the anti-Arpaio group Respect Arizona announced that it was suspending the use of paid canvassers to collect signatures, and will be reverting to an all-volunteer army to score the remaining sigs to put Arpaio out to pasture.

The announcement was poorly handled. On Sunday, paid canvassers received an e-mail from their employer informing them that they should turn in their petitions. It stated the campaign was ending due to a lawsuit brought by Arpaio's birther buddies.

By Monday morning, Respect Arizona's campaign manager, Lilia Alvarez, was informing reporters that there was not enough cash in the kitty to continue a money-driven effort, one that had scored at least 120,000 valid signatures from qualified county electors.

In hindsight, RA should have held a press conference before the petition company reeled in its workers with an e-mail that was bound to be leaked.

RA could have informed the press that a strategic decision had been made to use the remaining resources for messaging, while relying on volunteers to obtain the rest of the signatures.

A call for funds and more volunteers could have been made then, too.

It's always better to radiate strength than concede weakness: both to keep your enemy at bay and for the morale of your people.

But what's past is past. Laurie says the recall effort is a bust. According to her, we might as well get used to Arpaio walking all over us and those we care about for the next four years.

Good article Mr Lemons. My two cents, while I support the recall effort 100%, I believe timing is everything and wish they had waited a bit to start it, they should have known that would be an objection against it and covered their butts on it. That said, I have been surprised that she has written so many columns on the recall and with her tone. I really don't understand and each time I read it, I have to ask Why. Why is ms Roberts being so vocal on this and so often? Why? Fair question or not but it is what keeps coming to mind for me.

Sadly Steven, politics is a big business. They are all too busy raking the taxpayers over the coals to be worried about things like mismanagement of funds, or shoddy police work or even things like unnecessary deaths and the payouts that go with them. Just look at how long we have been waiting for judge Murray Snow to come back with his decision. What has it been? 6 months? If you remember, that was only supposed to be a month or a couple weeks for his decision. And how about how long it took for the Braillards? Years to see any action on that one. And before we even touch off on the hundreds of sex crimes that evidently werent as important as the massive pooling of resources and man power just to net 10 or so dishwashers after a 6 month investigation. Look at Aredondo, Horne, Henderschott and many others.......crime pays Steven. The way its starting to look is, if you want to succeed and make money in Arizona....get into politics or crime (damn near the same thing in this state). Hell, if you do it right you can reap the rewards of monetary gain from the crimes of others and not be considered a criminal, just look at Brewer ($75,000 she made off her rapist son), or any of the business owners Arpaio raided (who all walked free after making money off of hiring illegals). Here's what we should do Steven, we should form our own cabal of greedy people who have no regard for peoples lives or rights, and run for office. You can hang up your typewriter and i could quit my job, and we could milk this county for hundreds of millions of dollars (like Joe) and destroy this county and state (like Jan) and people would sing praises of our patriotism as we literally rape them on taxes (like Joe and Jan). Instead of expecting justice or people to do the right thing, we could be making money hand over fist and become the hero's to the uneducated (again like Jan and Joe).

There are those that do things, and then there are those who just write about them. Lemons has made a fortune writing against the Shurf. He should be more than willing to help with the recall, instead of just giving up.

I used to like what Laurie Roberts wrote, now She has become a "flip-floper", About that Guy....Mario, He is a traitor to His race. The reason that these two individuals are talking that bull might be that The DRAMA QUEEN's goons might've paid Them a visit, and might've been adviced to suppport the D. QUEEN

"He also works for good guys like Phoenix City Council candidate, Pastor Warren Stewart. So I'll cut him a little slack."

I would never consider someone who was pro-choice but rabidly anti-immigrant as a "good guy". Yet I'm supposed to overlook Stewart's long history of fighting against women's basic bodily rights because he opposed SB1070? I know this is about the Arpaio recall but what IS it with you and anti-choicers lately, Stephen?

@66rock well they took that argument right out of the mix when they turned around and started the recall Campbell org...now its nothing more than the usual bullshit from them..ironic isnt it, that everyones just talking about the arpaio recall and ignoring the Campbell recall?

ted.bollinger, is it The CORRUPT POS SHURF gonna be audited at last.,, I can not wait either, although, probably nothing is gonna be found, since the Fool might have another set of Books.BTW that's what it was said about "TWO TIMES" Pearce, and look at what happened. Your hero is gonna "bite" the dust again, not by falling to the ground though. SSSSLLLLLAAAAMMMM, downt went the fool.

@bob_lablaw96 A fortune? Jeez, I wish. I enjoy my job, and am happy to be able to get paid to write. But there's no money in this biz unless you own the means of production; i.e., the news outlet itself. You have to want to do it. There's no other way.

@IdontRecall Gosh, talking about victimizing the victims. You are too out of it to know the goons have visited some folks dumb ass and maybe they don't want to go to jail as they have family or close friends to protect/support. Maybe some folks like myself work behind the scenes raising $ for the recall rather than standing in front of the crowd yelling for that reason. Or maybe you are being paid by Chad you traitor to stir us up.

@IdontRecall Is it wrong to have your own opinions? Even if they differ from those with surnames that indicate a possible Hispanic history? Even if those opinions are not in lockstep with the political party that publishes this rag?

The guy may be wrong on some things, but Jesus! You do not allow him a thought that did not come from your own head? You are a cruel taskmaster!

We all come together against the Joke from many angles and histories. I really hate to see any of us begin to feast on another of us before we can put a stake in the heart of the Shurf.

@donnagratehouse I would ask, what is it with you and Latinos, Donna? Everyone has their bright line. I've always been pro choice, and still am. But in this state, the number one human rights crisis is being endured by the undocumented. Last time I checked, the state was not arresting people for getting an abortion. The undocumented, however, are incarcerated and torn from their families daily.

@stephen.lemons@bob_lablaw96 Hey Stephen, don't get too comfortable with your job as your career is about to come to a screeching halt. You're about to be headed to the unemployment line and guess what... your job will be replaced by an illegal alien.

@Focusfolks@IdontRecall You said a guy is a traitor to his race. That's just a silly statement. Also you mention goons visiting. Here you are right, J and J's goons HAVE visited certain people and have made threatening comments and actions. What is so hard about understanding that?

@bob_lablaw96, @focusfolks, You need to get Your heads out of Your asses, 'cause if U don't do it, I doubt U can re-read my post on that position, it came to my attention that You may suffer from "Reading Comprehension Disorder'........well, I shouldn't be surprised, since it seems that FOCUSFOLKS is not even able of putting together a COHERENT post. Thank You... come again.

@stephen.lemons@donnagratehouse Again, I would never embrace a political figure who was pro-choice but anti-immigrant. They could be pro-choice as all get-out, but if they supported Arpaio and SB1070 I would say that's nice that you're pro-choice but go away. Women's rights are human rights and attacks on reproductive rights disproportionately affect marginalized women, such as immigrant women. My white privileged middle class lady self will probably never be inconvenienced by an anti-choice law in AZ. But 14 year old rape victims on the Navajo reservation already are via shutting down clinics, waiting periods, mandatory ultrasounds, etc.

And it's not like there aren't a ton of politicians who are both pro-immigrant rights AND pro-choice in Arizona.

@ted.bollinger@stephen.lemons@bob_lablaw96 lmao yeah, im so sure thats going to happen dumb ass. theres about as much of a chance at that as you have getting a real job. "Debbie"...yeah, im onto you and will soon expose who you are...

@ted.bollinger@stephen.lemons@bob_lablaw96 Yes, Steven, a dreaded illegal alien. Because good 'ol Ted is gonna buy your newspaper and that all he's gonna hire - them illegals. And once that happens, you're entire career will be over- OVER. No one will ever hire you again because, well because Ted sayeth so. Frightened now, aren't you? But its a good thing that you've made your fortune so you can happily retire to a beach somehwere with an exotic drink and call on them illegals whenever you need a refill. (please note the sarcasm in my voice).

@stephen.lemons That lady..if you just changed "pro choice" to "pro life", you would see the same narrowness of thought and the same amount of anger. Oh, by the way abortion is a state and federal issue not the city council

@stephen.lemons@donnagratehouse "BTW, I take it from your non-answer that you never have approached Stewart on the subject so important for you. You'd rather just call him an "asshole." Sad."

Okay, I contacted his campaign. Here's what I sent:

Hello,

Stephen Lemons of the New Times thinks I am being unfair to Pastor Stewart because I take exception to his position on abortion, which I consider to be anti-woman. Lemons thinks I should engage with the Pastor to find out where he really stands on the issue before judging him.

With that in mind, I have a few of questions for the Pastor:

1. Does he consider abortion to be murder and, if so, what penalties should the woman face?

2. What type of, if any, sex education programs does the Pastor support in schools?

3. Does the Pastor favor exceptions for incest or rape victims? If so, could he explain how a woman might obtain an exemption?

4. Does the Pastor agree with the idea that a religious hospital should be able to deny a woman with severe pregnancy complications an abortion, even if her life is in danger?

Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Donna Gratehouse

Phoenix

Stephen, I have to tell you I have sent similar requests to more than a few anti-abortion politicians in AZ asking them simple questions to clarity their policy positions and have never gotten a response. Not once. Maybe it will be different with Stewart. We'll see.

I don't know how many discussions you've had with antis but I've had a ton of them. You know how pointless it is to try to reason with a birther or global warming denier or a Creationist, or perhaps a rabid Arpaio fan? Well, same thing with an anti-choicer. (And it goes without saying there's a lot of overlap in all those groups.) You're simply not dealing with a reality-based person. You can present them with facts all day long and they will simply parrot evidence-free bullshit.

Some of them are at least amusing since they lack the filter that should stop them from screaming how whores should keep their legs closed if they don't want to get pregnant. But the smart, professional ones have that glib patter down. Like I said, if I get a response I'll let you know.

And I was so mad this morning that I made a donation to Planned Parenthood. And then I made one to the Recall Arpaio campaign. Toodles.

It's a matter of priorities. The defining issue of this state for the last 7 years or so has been the defacto ethnic cleansing of thousands of undocumented Latinos via "attrition through enforcement." When an entire community is being subjected to attack, that takes precedence in my mind over other issues where the immediate danger might not be as great. I'm not looking to belittle LGBT issues or the issue of choice. And the legislature has done odious stuff in those areas, but nothing quite compares to the widespread fear, the decimation of families, and the targeting of a minority by the white majority.

We are on the same page on many subjects, Donna. But Arizona is not California. Hell, the Ds didn't even field a candidate for county attorney in 2012 or 2010! Many other offices went unchallenged as well.. So I don't have the luxury of demanding ideological purity. I have to take my allies where I can get them. The Ds simply do not have the power to counter what's been going on here. Jesus, the ONLY reason the Ds picked up seats in the lege and Congress was because of redistricting.

BTW, I take it from your non-answer that you never have approached Stewart on the subject so important for you. You'd rather just call him an "asshole." Sad.

@stephen.lemons@donnagratehouse So if there's ever a Dem running for something who is super-duper awesome on reproductive and LGBT rights but also publicly supports SB1070 and Arpaio's workplace raids you'd be okay if liberals support that candidate? Consistency with your commitment to avoiding ideological rigidity and not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good would seem to demand that.

Yet somehow I don't think you would find such a candidate acceptable. (Neither would I, but I'm kind of consistent in my own way like that.) I also think you would be pretty burned up if a bunch of Democrats lined up to support that candidate.

Yeah, Donna, I'm the devil in the flesh for calling Stewart a "good guy." That makes a whole lot of sense. I also think calling Stewart an "asshole who hates women" is kinda out there. We are talking about the guy who was instrumental in getting Arizona to accept an MLK day. Sorry, D, not everyone in life is going to get past your extensive ideological checklist. I don't think that makes them "assholes who hate women." Have you met Stewart and tried to engage him on the subject instead of just calling him names in a comment string?

@donnagratehouse@Focusfolks I have as well when I was an advocate for rape victims in my home state so I agree with you donna. I will add, just me of course, but I have never felt it was a man's issue at all and resent that it is usually men who shout pro life most often and loudest. Just my personal opinion. Also I can't believe we are even talking about rape or abortions now or last election. I thought those issues were settled long ago. Thanks Tea Party! Sorry had to vent.

There are people in jail now because of the anti-immigrant policies of this state. And it goes way beyond 1070. There are other injustices in this state, true, but the devil in front of us is what must be dealt with first. Sadly, many Ds in AZ are quite comfortable meeting your litmus test on abortion. But when it comes to defending the undocumented, they shrink. Out of pure cowardice. So do I give a pol extra points for recognizing a human rights crisis in their midst and speaking out against it? Yes. And I'll make no apology for doing so.